Justice for Palestine
Israel’s attack on Palestine did not begin last October. It dates back to the early 20th century with the development of the zionist movement. The zionist movement is a settler-colonial project that calls to establish an exclusivist Jewish ethnostate in Palestine, a land that had already been inhabited by Indigenous Palestinians for centuries. Zionism was an inherently violent project from the outset because, by seeking to form a majority-Jewish ethnostate on Palestinian land, it necessitated the displacement and death of hundreds of thousands of Indigenous Palestinians. What we’re seeing happen right now in Gaza and the West Bank represents a continuation and acceleration of the violence innate to the Zionist project. As in 1948, Israel is seeking to permanently conquer as much Palestinian land as possible while ridding it of as many Palestinian people as possible. Israel is continuing to commit a genocide with an ultimate goal of expansion, with military and government officials calling for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, making way for the construction of illegal settlements there. Today, over 40,000 Palestinains, many of whom are children, have been killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). For background on the Palestinian struggle, read through Decolonize Palestine’s resources.
To view corrections to popular Zionist myths about Palestine: search or browse Decolonize Palestine’s myths database.
What does the University of Chicago have to do with Palestine?
UChicago profits from the genocide and oppression of Palestinians through major donors and investments
UChicago holds investments in weapons manufacturers including Raytheon, Lockheed-Martin, and Boeing. Major donors such as the Crown family have made their fortunes through weapons manufacturers such as General Dynamics. Both Boeing and General Dynamics weapons are currently being used in Gaza to murder Palestinians.
Not only has the University ignored calls to divest from weapons contractors, it has refused to even acknowledge that Israel is committing scholasticide in Gaza.
UChicago partners with Israeli institutions that support the Israeli and US military-industrial complexes
While claiming to be “neutral”, UChicago partners with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University on a project aimed to develop better technologies for Israelis to drink water, even as Israel continues to weaponize water access against the Palestinian people. Similar partnerships have been announced, over the years, with Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and other apartheid Israeli institutions with well-documented track records of upholding Israel’s occupation regime. UChicago also hosts the Chicago Quantum Exchange, which facilitates transfer of research to Boeing, IBM, and Microsoft, all current or former suppliers for the Israeli military, as well as partnering with Israeli institution Technion, whose aerospace engineering faculty is heavily affiliated with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Israeli government-owned weapons manufacturing company that developed the iron dome.
UChicago partners with the Israel Institute, a military-tied institution which pushes a Zionist and pro-Israel agenda in academic spaces, to host Israeli propagandists who teach students Israeli-government-approved material
For example, in 2023 former Deputy Director of Israeli Military Intelligence General taught a “counter-terrorism” course that propagated racism, Islamophobia, and colonial militarism through whitewashing Israeli violence and vilifying all Palestinian resistance as terrorism
Suppression of solidarity with Palestine
While the University has suppressed students who express solidarity with Palestine – including arresting, profiling, and temporarily withholding diplomas from students, as well as putting SJP under probation (see the “UChicago United for Palestine” one pager) – it consistently does not respond to threats, violent language, and physical aggression against Palestinian students and allies.
People on campus have regularly tried to dox (mostly Arab, Black, and Muslim) students supporting Palestine, compiling both public and private data and uploading it to social media as well as sites like Canary Mission, a blacklist website operating nationally. This is then used to harass them. Multiple UChicago students and a tenured professor have been put on Canary Mission, with no response from the University.
How can you help?
Support BDS
BDS is a Palestinian-led movement that promotes Boycotting, Divesting from, and Sanctioning Israel. Israel relies on the monetary and political support of the international community to uphold a system of apartheid and settler colonialism over the Palestinian people. Participating in the BDS movement by boycotting and pressuring companies, organizations, and governments to divest from and sanction Israel creates pressure to end apartheid. Economic boycott targets include HP, Chevron, Puma, McDonalds, and all Israeli produce. For more information, see here: https://bdsmovement.net/what-is-bds
Boycott Zionist and Israel Institute - taught classes
SJP continually updates the list of classes that should be boycotted for their upholding of the racist Zionist regime and the state of Israel
Get organized!
Another way to support Palestinians is to join the millions of people around the world participating in organized action for Palestinian liberation. On UChicago’s campus, this is organized under the banners of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and our coalition of 17 organizations called UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP). Follow @uchicagounited and @sjpuchicago on instagram to stay up-to-date on upcoming events and actions, or sign up to join SJP here.
